Victoria's Sentencing Advisory Council has made 26 recommendations for the improvement of the state's second-most common sentencing orders: Adjourned undertakings.

The undertakings, also known as good behaviour orders, or bonds, have not been reviewed since they were first introduced in 1985, almost 40 years ago.

Adjourned undertakings are a flexible community order that require offenders to be of good behaviour for a period (usually 12 months), and may also include additional conditions such as participating in rehabilitation programs or making charitable donations.

In 2019, more than 17,000 adjourned undertakings were imposed in Victoria, accounting for 18 per cent of all sentencing outcomes in Victorian adult courts.

The Sentencing Advisory Council's new report has recommended a series of reforms. The recommendations are the result of "extensive data analysis, legal research, and two years of consultation with various stakeholders".

The overarching objective of the reforms is to "further enhance a sentencing order that is already highly regarded by those working within Victoria's criminal justice system, better ensuring its effectiveness while avoiding any unintended consequences".

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Nerita Waight told National Indigenous Times it is "really important that Victoria reform adjourned undertakings so that they are working to help people reintegrate and get out of the criminal legal system".

"Too often we see our clients put on orders that are too complicated to understand and too hard to comply with, and that just leads to them being stuck in the legal system longer and potentially being criminalised further. This means some of our clients instruct our lawyers to accept a higher sentence rather than be put on an adjourned undertaking. It is an unfair system," she said.

"The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommended that non-custodial sentences, like adjourned undertakings, be more accessible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The current system doesn't live up to the recommendations of the Royal Commission and I hope the Victorian Government embraces reforms that make communities stronger and safer by embracing better sentencing."

The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service's full contribution to the Sentencing Advisory Council's consultation process can be found online.

Council Chair Professor Marilyn McMahon said adjourned undertakings serve "a critical role" in the justice system.

"They are designed for people who commit less serious offences, which make up most of the crime dealt with by courts. They are also designed for first-time offenders who are unlikely to reoffend. And they are designed for vulnerable and marginalised people who are less likely to reoffend if they access appropriate rehabilitation programs," she said.

"As the second most common sentence imposed in Victorian courts, adjourned undertakings are already working very well. They let people move on with their lives, and at the same time they make the community safer and save taxpayers' money. Our 26 recommendations are simply designed to make this sentencing order work even better than it already is."

The Council's key recommendations include:

- Renaming adjourned undertakings: To improve community understanding about the nature of these orders, the Council has recommended they be renamed as 'good behaviour orders'.

- Defining 'good behaviour': There is currently no definition of what it means to be of 'good behaviour' during an adjourned undertaking. The Council has recommended more clearly defining this as simply not committing further offences.

- Payment conditions: The Council has made a number of recommendations relating to payment conditions of adjourned undertakings, including making sure that payments do not unfairly affect offenders with lower incomes.

- Form reform: Many stakeholders observed that the form given to offenders who receive an adjourned undertaking is unnecessarily complex and difficult to understand. The Council has recommended that the Magistrates' Court redesign the form so that it can be more easily understood by those who have to comply with the adjourned undertaking.

- Decriminalising breaches: There is currently a distinct offence of breaching an adjourned undertaking, with a maximum penalty of a fine. The Council found the breach offence is rarely and inconsistently prosecuted, can have a significant effect on court resources, and does not add to the powers a court can exercise in response to breach behaviours. Following unanimous stakeholder support – from police, prosecutors, defence lawyers, offender support organisations, and others – the Council has recommended repealing the distinct breach offence.

The final report, Reforming Adjourned Undertakings in Victoria: Final Report is available on the Council's website.

The Sentencing Advisory Council is an independent statutory authority established in 2004. It has a number of legislative functions, including conducting research on sentencing, consulting on sentencing matters, publishing sentencing statistics, and advising the Attorney-General on sentencing.